Research and Development
by KyuubiWindscar
Summary: AU In the shinobi world, it's all about advantages. Bloodlines, Jinchuuriki and the like were all made give their village a one up on the competition. But, as Naruto must soon discover, the best advantages are learned with two words: Research and Development.
1. Crimson

**A/N:** So yeah...this chapter got some editing so that I could do a few more things smoothly with it. Hope you guys enjoy it

**Chapter 1**:** Crimson**

* * *

"So….you think I can control it?" asked very confused Uzumaki Kushina, trying to make sense of the words the man across from her had said previously.

"No, not _control_, per se, but I have a theory that you can work in harmony with him and become a much more effective kunoichi, Uzumaki-san," said the much younger, and slightly flabbergasted young man.

He had jet black hair down to his shoulders, with piercing green eyes behind a pair of reading glasses. He wore a long white lab coat over a teal shirt and khaki pants, his hitai-ite tied around his right arm. The two shinobi sat at a small restaurant in the middle of the village, although neither had ordered food.

"And how do I know that your 'theory' is founded upon sound logic, Jin? I mean, why has one else even tried something like this if you're so sure about it? Even Orochimaru-san isn't entirely sure about this idea of yours, and he's usually your biggest supporter on this end," responded Kushina.

"Ahh, the Director is still trying valiantly for that Hokage position that Sarutobi-sama has been rumored to have offered, he doesn't want any _unwanted_ attention being drawn to the Research and Development Department, with the war looming and all," said the younger man.

"Hmph, Minato-kun tells me that Orochimaru basically has the position in the bag, and it would take a tragedy, then a miracle for anyone to surpass his standing in the village."

"Well, he doesn't want it to come from us, so he isn't giving full backing on this project. However, if I get your consent, as well as keep this under wraps, we may be able to find out more about the Bijuu," said Jin, while staring intently at his notes laid out in front of him.

"You seem awfully sure about this, Jin-san….can we really do this? And how does this 'idea' of yours even work?" asked the Hot-Blooded Habanero.

"It's….it's a long story how, but I've studied the Bijuu for a very long time, and it fascinated me how they are all completely sentient masses of chakra. But even more intriguing is their ability to reform their bodies using only their chakra. We can already manipulate solid objects with chakra, but if we can somehow create solid objects using only chakra the possibilities can be limitless! But...I'm not 100% sure myself, nothing is truly certain….but I do believe that it will work. But this will only happen if you trust me, Kushina-san," replied Jin. "So, what's your answer?"

Kushina paused for a moment. After all these years of being tasked to containing the demon within her, she had never made any serious attempts at utilizing it's powers. Her current skillset was already exceptional, but a lingering feeling made itself known that she had been holding herself back by not getting _something_ useful from the fox with all the time it spent sealed within her.

She sharpened her gaze before saying, "I trust you. Let's do this! Dattebane!"

Jin flashed a ghost of a grin, his current goal having been achieved. _'Everything seems to be in place. I just hope that nothing catastrophic happens soon.'_

**KW-RD-KW-RD-**

Seated in his office, going over certain paperwork before signing it or vetoing the notion, Sarutobi Hiruzen was a very tired man. The day's events, including the possibility that a genin with extraordinary chakra reserves learned more than a harmless, to him anyway, forbidden jutsu. That, and he had to do all of the paperwork of overriding Naruto's failure of his graduation exam. It just wasn't a very good day for an old man.

Sighing as he handed the last of the forms to his secretary, the aged leader of Fire Country relaxed for a brief moment, contemplating the state of affairs. Sadly, his peaceful moment was interrupted by a surge of chakra coming from right behind his desk.

"You know, I still wonder how no one has figured out I'm right here most of the time. It was fun before but now it's just…."

As the chakra flared wildly, seals appeared from the ceiling to the floor in the silhouette of the average grown man. Similarly, the shadows behind the desk slowly moved backwards, revealing an older and matured Jin.

"...just plain boring."

"Tetsu Jin….so what brings the Director of Research & Development into my office on a day such as this?" asked Hiruzen, rubbing the bridge of his nose in distaste at the situation.

"A great many things, but at the present moment an increase in funding would be the most prudent," he replied.

"Not unless you have something of worth from your little science experiments, Jin."

"_All_ of my experiments have something of worth in them, but nothing that would satiate _your_ tastes, Hokage-_sama_," replied the science director in distaste.

"You would do well to remember your station," said the Hokage with an edge to his voice.

Jin sighed, calming his body from the sudden rush of emotion from the jab at his life's work, and seated himself before speaking again.

"Well, since you won't provide funding, maybe I could argue about the removal of a few sanctions on my department? At the very least we could continue some projects that showed immense promise before you nearly shut us down some time ago," Jin said as he sat down in a chair opposite the Hokage, preparing for a possible negotiation session that would last for hours, if his calculations were correct.

"Which projects exactly?" asked the Hokage, leaning back slightly to gauge his lead scientist, as if trying to guess which he would say first.

"Well, with recent events unfolding the way they have been, I feel as though the limitation on my recruitment should be lowered, if not eliminated entirely."

"And I suppose that you want a missive that gives you free reign in the village as well?" responded Hiruzen sarcastically.

"You say that as if you and your student haven't created an air of suspicion around my department," replied Jin in the same tone.

"You little…."

"I was talking about Jiraiya. Tsunade was more indifferent to our cause, only investing in possible medical uses. Dedicated one, that girl."

A brief moment of silence let the tension in the air settle a little bit, as the two locked eyes waiting for the other to budge in the slightest on their end. Jin ended the contest saying, "If I don't recruit, then who'll make the next 'soldier pill' or some sort from the next generation? Besides, it's not like I'm asking for something completely unreasonable yet."

"...Fine. I'll remove the quota imposed on your active members, but you will have to find your own matters of funding to do so. And I'll have men watching you at every junction," said Hiruzen.

"So be it, but I do have the matter of those 'unreasonable' requests," said Jin as he adjusted his glasses.

"You're treading on half-melted ice, Jin."

"That I realize. But now is the most opportune time for us to continue progress on these two specifically. You know who I mean, I'd bet."

"Project: _Crimson_. I should have known you'd go for that particular well, especially after tonight's events. But the other one escapes me…" said the aged shinobi, stroking his beard as he finished the sentence.

"Project: _Hollow_, if you remember."

"Hmmm…..in any other time I would give a sound 'no' to this. But, with our resources at nearly record lows and our shinobi corps being seen as 'weak', we may need an edge to deter any conflict. _Hollow _is reinstated, but my men will oversee it, " said the Hokage with an edge of finality.

"Fine, fine, if it helps you sleep better at night," replied Jin, earning a glare from the Hokage. "What about Naruto? Kushina explicitly stated she wanted him to master…"

"No dice. He's off limits."

"But what if the symbol activates? I still haven't checked to see if it was placed properly or how strong the link to his seal is. It could be dangerous if he isn't guided through the process."

"He will be guided properly. Rest assured. Go home now, this meeting is over."

Jin stared into the eyes of the man once revered as a sovereign deity on the battlefield. For what seemed like an eternity he wordlessly begged for his leader to reconsider his decision. However, his silent pleading went to no avail. The ninja scientist stood and bowed to his superior, and disappeared in a flurry of leaves.

**KW-RD-KW-RD-**

In a word, it was tantalizing. The dome of mirrors reflected light like a diamond separated at its edges, with each surface absolutely flawless. Every mirror was uniform, a testament to both the balance of the technique itself and the impeccable chakra control of the hunter ninja, Haku.

Uchiha Sasuke would remember these as the first details from the _re_-awakening of his Sharingan for a very long time.

Even with his not-so-new ability now active, he still knew that he was no match for Haku. The boy was playing with he and his blond teammate from the get-go, and his stance and form spelled of a precision borne from relentless daily training and experience of killing many a ninja more qualified than he. His Uchiha pride, however, would allow him to sooner die at the hands of an accidental scorpion sting before dying at the hands of someone other than an elite ninja.

As he dodged the first barrage of needles since he activated his Sharingan, he couldn't help but wince as his fellow Konoha-nin clumsily attempted a dodge only to get hit by a few more needles than if he stayed still.

_'Hmph, such a useless ninja. If only Sakura could have half his reserves, then I'd have a real chance at beating this guy. I must admit, his will to never give up is admirable...kid keeps getting up'_ thought the raven-haired boy as his teammate once again stood after being hit in multiple locations that should have put him down for the count.

Naruto's eyes met Sasuke's, causing a slightly uncomfortable silence as they both knew that their enemy was preparing another attack, but didn't have a gameplan to stop it.

Before Naruto could voice his opinion about the situation, however, Sasuke quickly said, "Naruto, I need you to rush his mirrors with your Kage Bunshin. It'll give me an opening to strik...ughh..."

Sasuke never got the chance to finish his statement as multiple needles struck him, one right in the neck. Naruto watched in horror as his teammate stared at him lifelessly, falling to the floor with a loud thump.

"I'm sorry, but allowing him to live any longer with his eyes would be troublesome. Now, retreat or I will have to strike you down as well!" said the masked ninja from inside of his mirror.

Naruto's emotion were waging war from within him, but the only sign of any were the tears running down his face. His face was blank otherwise, the vibrant quality in his eyes dimmed considerably, and his mouth was slightly opened as if he wanted to speak but had all form of language ripped from his very memories. He closed his eyes, causing the tears to fall a lot faster, and he clenched his hands into fists.

"You killed Sasuke..." he said in a distant voice.

"I do not feel proud of my actions, but I will kill my heart and do what Zabuza-sama commands. Now retreat before I have to kill you as well," said Haku in a hesitant voice.

Naruto slammed his fists into the ground, doing nothing but hurting himself in the process. As he was now on all fours before Sasuke's prone form, a warm feeling from his stomach was the only warning for what happened next.

Foul, red colored chakra erupted from Naruto's body. But with it, a strange array of symbols began to glow along Naruto's back, arms and legs. When the symbols on his back began to glow brilliantly, compared to the rest of his body, Naruto suddenly felt himself drift into a strange mix between consciousness and unconsciousness.

Haku stared at Naruto intently, his own body frozen in fear from the vile feeling of the chakra Naruto was producing. He quickly noted that Naruto's wounds healed almost instantly, and that his whisker marks had darkened. The seals, as Haku deduced, on Naruto's back and limbs could be seen glowing from the opening in his sleeves, except the back seals which were bright enough to be seen through the cloth.

Haku steeled himself before drawing a set of senbon, intent on stopping Naruto before he became a threat to himself and quite possibly everyone in the immediate vicinity…

**KW-RD-KW-RD-**

Taking a brief moment of their blind man's ninja battle, Kakashi and Zabuza both tried to interpret the origins of the vast and undeniably evil chakra that saturated the air. While Zabuza was completely baffled, Kakashi knew exactly what this event signified. Quickly deciding to take control of the battle, Kakashi pulled out a scroll and wiped his blood from his wound across before allowing it to snap back to its original rolled up state.

"It would seem I'm on a tighter schedule than I anticipated. How about we end this in one move, Zabuza?" asked Kakashi as he quickly went through a set of handseals.

Zabuza scoffed, replying, "Your Sharingan is useless, and without it, you can't defeat me! Go ahead and try!"

Kakashi merely sighed in exasperation before shouting, "**Kuchiyose**: **Doton**: **Tsuiga no jutsu**!"

Slamming his scroll into the ground, the telltale symbols that signify a summoning had occurred buried themselves into the ground, silently tracking and hunting their intended target…

**KW-RD-KW-RD-**

As the newly found power coursed through his coils, Naruto's mind was caught trapped in a series of memories that weren't his. Images were blurred, the scene was darkened, and all the sounds were muffled to the point that he could barely tell that anything was happening around him. The only definite feeling he could pinpoint was the powerful aura the being who's memories he was reliving emanated.

Haku, not wanting to know what that new chakra made his opponent capable of, threw three needles at Naruto, only for them to get pushed out of his body the moment they entered. His growing frustration with the boy increased tenfold, but as did his fear.

"He is able to heal more quickly than anyone I have ever faced...his chakra is even greater than Zabuza-sama's...he must be killed quickly," he quietly to himself as he readied another barrage of needles.

Naruto tried to make sense of the memories, but then a bright light flashed for a moment and he heard a menacing chuckle, then everything went dark.

On the outside, Naruto's head snapped up, eyes the color of blood and an unnatural look on his face. He stared at his hands for a moment before snickering at the appendages.

"So, she really did include the symbol on him for **Hyōi Gattai**. My respect for Uzumaki-san just jumped a bit. Even if she didn't trust me with enough chakra to do any real damage," said Naruto, or rather, whatever was controlling him.

"Who…..who are you?" asked Haku as he tried to both ready himself for an attack and try to rationalize whatever was going on.

Naruto looked at the boy, then at the fallen Uchiha, and shrugged a little before saying, "So, we've got a nearly dead Uchiha, judging by his chakra levels, and an ice user that probably put him there. Kid must have held him in high opinion to get mad enough to weaken the seal and activate the symbol."

Naruto then held his hand towards his face, and red chakra began to leak and coalesce around the limb extension. The same event also began to unfold on the opposite hand, ending with a flashing light and ethereal five fingered crimson claws around Naruto's hand, extending all the way up to his elbow.

"Ahhh….at least I have enough to use my own hands for this. **O.S. Bijuu Han Kote**." (Oversoul: Tailed Beast Armored Gauntlets)

Haku also noted the new additions to Naruto's form, and quickly decided to get rid of the blond before he had a chance to get used to his new weapons. Crisscrossing between mirrors, Haku sent needle after needle towards Naruto, only to see Naruto block more than a few, and those that landed get pushed out his body. Naruto then went on the counteroffensive, thrusting his right hand, as the left one had been used to block the needles that had been thrown at him just before, at the general direction he thought Haku was in. His efforts were repaid by the sound of flesh being torn into...

**KW-RD-KW-RD-**

Zabuza was now caught by a horde of nin-dogs, their teeth holding him in place. He struggled a little bit, but figured it was moot because it only deepened the creatures' teeth in his flesh. He also noticed that his right arm had been separated at the elbow, a problem he would have to address when he was free once again.

Across from him, Kakashi was taking a small break, calculating his remaining chakra reserves as well as assessing his wound extensively. He then stood to his feet, and began to form handseals.

"Now that we're done playing, it's time to end this little game. Your time has come to an end, Zabuza," he said he went through his set of seals in perfect harmony.

Zabuza responded, "You think you can finish me off so easily? I'm the Demon of the Hidden Mist, not some rank genin you can just toy with!"

"I don't just think, I know that I can finish you right here. Besides, I have a village secret to protect, so I'll make this quick! **Raikiri**!" exclaimed Kakashi as he finished his seals, and lightning chakra concentrated itself around his right hand.

_'That chakra...it's so strong that it's _visible_!' _thought Zabuza as Kakashi's technique caused streaks of electricity to discharge and crack the concrete on the bridge.

Kakashi then reared back his hand, closed his right eye, and charged at full speed, which was augmented by the **Raikiri** itself. He could almost feel the fear coming off of Zabuza as he got closer and closer, his technique ready to pierce the man's midsection and kill him almost instantly…

**KW-RD-KW-RD-**

Blood dripped from Naruto's hand, inside the demon-like appendage that covered it. On the ground before him lay Haku, covered in his own life fluid, but very much still alive. Naruto raised his hand in the air, preparing to deliver the coup de grace, when a disturbance in his mind caused him to be distracted for the tiniest moment.

'_Damn, seems like the boy is waking up from the trauma. I shouldn't have put all my power into these claws in one go….in any case, I have to get rid of this brat before the kid awakens.'_ thought the entity controlling Naruto.

Haku slowly lowered his head, content to accept his fate at the hands of the much more promising shinobi. But just before Naruto could land the killing blow, Haku noticed the spike in Kakashi's chakra and noticed it was moving fast toward his master. His head snapped back into it's previous position, hands going through seals as fast as possible, stopping just before Naruto struck, taking advantage of the moment of pause he had just taken.

"Sorry, I couldn't die by your hand, but my master needs me." were the last words Naruto heard Haku speak before the hunter vanished into a blur of a Body Flicker.

The red chakra began to fade, and Naruto cursed under his breath once before full unconsciousness claimed him…

**KW-RD-KW-RD-**

The first sensation the blond ninja felt as he gained both his consciousness and control of his body was pain. Not overwhelming, but definitely noticeable aches in each and every joint on his body. The second sensation he felt was the smell of burnt flesh coming from a few meters away. Everything else after those could be chalked up to semantics as the rush of all the other stimuli aggravated the mild headache that was beginning to fade.

As the function of his eyes returned to normal, a different scene greeted the hyperactive shinobi, as both Haku and Zabuza lay dead next to each other, while the other bodies were cut or burned into something unidentifiable.

In his confusion, it took him about thirty seconds to realize that Sakura had not only been the one that woke him, but had been trying to get his attention the entire time with no luck.

"NARUTO! You've really gone deaf haven't you? Did you catch a needle to the ear or something?"

"No….sorry it's just…..everything got blurry after Sasuke," said Naruto as he stopped himself mid sentence, not wanted to pour lemon juice on a fresh wound.

"What about Sasuke-kun? He's been awake for a few minutes now. That masked guy's needle wasn't fatal," responded Sakura in a somber, almost grateful tone.

Naruto turned his head to see Kakashi walking over, a fully conscious but weakened Sasuke draped over his shoulder.

"So then...what happened?" asked Naruto as Team 7 reunited after the lengthy battle.

"We will explain later. As for now, we recoup at Tazuna's house while they finish the bridge. I'd imagine with Gato having been killed by his own thugs a little earlier, there shouldn't be any major form of resistance at this point. Let's move out," said Kakashi while motioning his genin to follow him.

Silently following the order, Team 7 solemnly marched their way back to the bridge builder's home, having survived their first real taste of battle….

* * *

**A/N: **Got the tweaks I wanted, think I'll be happier. Should finish Ch2 some point soon, but it is that time for finals in most universities around the country so please be patient with me.

One big thing I wanted to clarify is the name of Naruto/Kurama's (you all knew who it was) "jutsu" that was used, _han kote_ is the Japanese name for the armored gauntlets used by samurai. Full sleeved(connected all the way up) would be just _kote_, and they have like a million names for it in Wikipedia.

Also, changed "Kazuya Testujin" to just "Tetsu Jin". Thought his name was a little….excessive.

Other mysteries will be revealed in-story, some in chapter 2.


	2. Fight or Flight

**Chapter 2: Fight or Flight**

**X-X-X**

He had to run. If nothing else, if no other constant held, even if his body absolutely _refused_ to do so, running was the only option. So he had to run, and run quickly, for the sake of surviving to run another day.

There was little other choice when you were face to face with a monster, and the 'fight' option didn't pan out so well for his comrades.

Everything had been simple. Orochimaru-sama had ordered a team to collect 'taxes', which were highway robbery even to the most devilish of leaders, from a few local villages that had been hit by misfortune recently. Knowing they wouldn't be able to pay, they were to gather up the strongest and smartest of these towns and bring them back to base for...whatever the hell the snake lord and his medic had cooked up for that evening.

Then, _he_ showed up.

At first, he seemed like a typical Konoha ANBU agent. Black robe, with grey armor underneath, black pants, with the animal mask only Konoha ANBU wore in the shape of a dolphin. He didn't have a team, or a single weapon on him other than his ninjato at first glance. So, thirty-five chuunin-level shinobi against one shouldn't have been _too _hard.

Or so they thought.

They had warned the man to leave while his head was still attached to his shoulders, hoping that he'd leave without a fight and they could finish this mission without incident. But, in a move that seemed like sheer stupidity, the ANBU guy took off his mask and tossed it to the side, revealing a tan skinned man with a deep scar along his nose.

His next move, however, was to hold his right hand over his face and 'pull' downwards, creating a mask more reminiscent to a skull in that it resembled a human face without skin, complete with 'teeth' covering the mouth portion. The eye holes were much larger, showing the entire eyeball beneath and it had a long black stripe over the nose that mimicked his scar.

Foul purple chakra began to seep from the strange Konoha-nin right after the mask was fully formed, and half his team attacked almost instantly before he could use it.

Or so they thought.

Within an instant, each man attacking fell to his knees and began to bleed profusely from wounds that seemed to just _appear_. A couple more men tried to avenge their deaths, only to have their heads removed as they drew kunai. The remainder just _ran_, hoping to find reinforcements or maybe even a god of some sort to stop this monstrosity from killing them.

Unfortunately, no one had, and he was the only one left searching.

For a brief moment, the Oto-nin looked behind him and sighed in relief as he saw neither hide nor hair of the deranged Konoha ANBU hellbent on killing him and his comrades. That moment, however, didn't last long as he heard a slight buzzing sound and was now face to face with the creature.

Normal, human-like brown eyes stared into the golden irises of a demon in human form, and the Sound ninja was sincerely hoping he'd found that god he was searching for.

"P-p-please…spare me! I promise I'll run away and never come back! Just please don't kill me!"

"I'm sorry, I can't oblige you in that request. My mission is to eliminate you all before your presence grows troublesome," replied the ANBU agent without a hint of emotion, brandishing his sword.

The Oto-nin let a few tears drop from his eyes, hoping his would be murderer would show even the tiniest bit of mercy, only to get a slash across the chest, nicking his subclavian artery and causing blood to spray from the slash.

"And now for the coup de grâce…"

The Konoha native wouldn't get to finish his sentence as a chain-like design on his target's chest began to glow a deep purple, before it shattered and a black circle with the kanji for 'Hollow' in the center. White liquid began to pour out of his mouth and eyes as the Oto-nin screamed in pain, unaware of what was happening to him.

'_So, Orochimaru really has replicated it. And if this guy didn't know he had this within him, there's no telling how many other of these guys are in his employ.'_

A similar foul chakra emanated from the Oto-nin's body erupted as the white liquid coalesced into a mask similar to his foe's, causing said foe to get into a battle ready stance with his blade.

'_So much for making it back for that teacher's meeting,'_ thought the Konoha-nin before charging his opponent mid-transformation...

**KW-RD-KW-RD-**

For what seemed like the millionth time in recent memory, Uzumaki Naruto was confused.

Everything in his life had been constant, strange as it was, before his revelation that he was the container for the infamous Kyuubi no Yoko. Even then, that had been merely a constant that he was simply unaware of, but it was unsettling that something like that was just sitting, in his own body no less, without any sort of indication that it was there.

And, apparently, that had only been the tip of the iceberg as far as weird things going on, if the next couple of months of events were to be believed.

First, there was that mission gone wrong in Nami no Kuni where he all but blacked-out when he thought Sasuke got killed, then he woke up to see a bridge filled with charred bodies and strange gouches in the concrete. He'd been told that while he did inflict major wounds upon the ice user, Kakashi himself had given the coup de grace.

Then, there was the fact that _Sakura_ of all people was supposedly the cause of the hellish scene on the rest of the bridge, but neither she nor Kakashi would divulge the details as to _how_.

And finally, out of nowhere, he gets put in the middle of this giant...seal thing, that's supposed to jog his memory about what happened in Nami no Kuni by some creepy guy is his thirties from the R&D Department.

Sighing in resignation, he looked around giant room he was enclosed in, noticing for the first time that he was the only object in the room. On the floor was a sealing array, and from what little they taught about sealing at the Academy, or what little he'd actually retained, it looked like a binding seal of some sort.

Temporarily suspending his suspicions _why _he needed such a seal in place, even if it wasn't active, he looked through the small glass windows in the reinforced concrete walls to see lots of faces he didn't recognize, as well as three that he did.

One was the creepy old guy, Jin, and next to him was Sakura, who was wearing a white lab coat over her typical ninja garbs. Naruto remembered her mentioning something about joining R&D after they returned to the village, saying they'd been recruiting her because of her high test scores. A little ways away was Yamanaka Ino, and Naruto couldn't figure out for the life of him why _she _was there, although he guessed she'd also joined because she had out a notepad and pen, and was wearing special protective goggles even though there was a layer of concrete between her and the beast container.

Naruto rolled his eyes in boredom, eventually saying, "Hey! Anybody out there! Can we just start this already!"

From the other side of the glass, Jin had been discussing various minute, but extremely important details with his subordinates, making sure that everything on his end was spotless as to keep the Hokage off his back.

Everything was in place, from the binding seal that would keep the Kyuubi in place if it tried to free itself in any way, the necessary tools to measure the chakra output, even making the lighting so that the ANBU present could see the notes being jotted down. The only 'wildcards' so to speak, were Sakura and Ino, who were filling in for their senior officers who had more pressing work on a different project.

Hearing Naruto's complaint, Jin pressed the intercom button and replied, "Please be patient, Naruto-san. We're almost ready."

He turned to his other subordinates and gave them the 'ready' signal, which they returned in kind. He then turned his attention to his junior researchers, saying, "Ino, make sure you record any oddities in his movements. He should be absolutely still once we begin."

Ino nodded, and returned her attention to her enigmatic classmate, wondering just what about Naruto could warrant half the department's manpower.

"Sakura, are you ready? If anything goes wrong, you have to activate the symbols on the wall to neutralize his chakra, and the binding seals will kick in after."

"Jin-sempai...will it really come to that? I know Naruto can be a little unpredictable, but he shouldn't need all of _this_ to keep him contained," replied the pink haired Genin.

"Well, this is just a precaution. Rules and regulations, as it were. In the old days, I probably wouldn't go this far, but I no longer possess that luxury. Anyway, I believe everyone is ready," said Jin before peering back into the concrete room. He pressed the intercom button again and said, "Ready, Naruto?"

Naruto gave a thumbs up and a smile, signaling his approval.

Jin smiled and formed a half ram seal, causing one of the marks on Naruto's shoulder to begin to glow almost blindingly, causing everyone not named Ino to shield their eyes while Naruto's world went completely dark.

**KW-RD-KW-RD-**

He wasn't sure how long he'd been out before he awoke in the middle of a pool of water. He might have registered that it was strange that he was no longer in the concrete room with a large binding seal on the floor. Or even that he woke up in a pool of water somehow without having to hack out any liquid from his lungs.

Maybe, if he hadn't seen a somewhat familiar pair of menacing red eyes bearing down upon him.

"Y-y-y-y-ou're..t-t-th-the…"

The demon fox of legend sent out a wave of chakra, laced with killing intent, that silenced the stammering youth. As enjoyable as it was, they had business to attend to.

"**Yes, brat, I'm the reason why the others fear you. Why you're ostracized by your own villagers. I'm the Kyuubi no Yoko**."

Naruto gulped a bit before steeling himself, deciding to try and preserve what little dignity he had left in front of the monster in front of him.

"**Now that we've gone through our pleasantries, I believe that you're wondering why you're here exactly**," said the fox, in a decidedly bored tone. "**Well, maybe not that as I'm sure you know the true purpose of why you're here, but why this location exactly**."

"Ummm...what? None of that made sense," responded Naruto, having conveniently misplaced his fear in favor of confusion for the time being.

"**Well, seeing as how I took over your body back there against the ice wielder, I figured it would only be a matter of time before The Scientist brought you here to see me**. **Is any of that incorrect**?"

Naruto shook his head, still amazed at the size of the beast in his stomach as well as finding him oddly...polite for something that was supposed to be blatantly arrogant and temperamental, if the attack twelve years ago was anything to go off of.

"**So, tell me, why are you here, brat**?"

"I'm here," started Naruto while growing progressively more confident as he spoke, "because you've been living off of me for free for too long! I'm demanding some rent, paid in your chakra!"

Naruto's smirk, that he'd put on in the middle of his rant, quickly vanished as a particularly cruel sounding laugh echoed through the sewer like environment they were stationed in. He could feel the fear he'd abandoned earlier creep back into his system, obviously angry that it'd been left to rot in some pit while confidence and pride took over the emotional spotlight.

"**You're so rude, brat**.** Demanding rent from someone who saved your life from a superior opponent**. **You aren't strong enough to enforce any of those demands. However, you've lucked out since you're on the receiving end of the inheritance of a promise**," said the fox, with a bit of reverence at the end.

"A….promise? A promise like what?" asked Naruto a bit hesitantly.

"**Someone who I begrudgingly respect and that was very close to you managed to weasel a promise out of me, and also passed on my debt to you**. **So, I will give you an opportunity to prove you can wield my chakra, that you're worthy of the power of **_**Crimson**_," answered the fox.

"_Crimson_? What's that?"

"**Considering you're an idiot, and that I've been chosen to explain this to you somehow, I'll make this simple. The Scientist somehow found a method of creating corporeal constructs using my chakra. It's a much more effective method than haphazardly injecting it into your coils and expecting you to learn how to manipulate it slowly. The only caveat, as it were, is that **_**I **_**must agree to this**," said the Kyuubi in a decidedly bored tone, while also silently swearing death upon Jin and whoever else's decision it was to have him explain this.

"So….you're gonna let me use your chakra? I thought you hated humans," said Naruto with a bit more naivete than he probably wanted.

"**No, you're absolutely right. I despise your kind, brat. However, it's as I said, one of your kind wasn't **_**as**_** insufferable as the rest of you meatbags, so I decided to hold up her request**."

"Wow...this was really easy compared to what I thought it was gonna be! So, how much chakra do I get?" asked Naruto excitedly. His mind literally swam with the possibilities of what he could do with nearly a thousand times his current reserves.

The Kyuubi laughed, this time even harder than before, at what Naruto's expectations from the sound of his voice when he posed the question. Naruto could even see the fox laying on it's back with a paw on its forehead as it cackled endlessly.

"What's so funny?"

"**What's funny, brat, is that you probably think I'm going to give you some extraordinary amount of chakra to start off with**. **I'll let you know now, you won't receive any significant portion of my chakra for a while. At least until you have some skill to back up that bravado**."

Naruto pouted, his dreams irrevocably crushed by a creature from his nightmares. In a moment of rare perception, he even noticed the irony of the situation.

"Then how much am I really getting?" asked the blond shinobi, much more subdued than his previous state of mind.

"**You do need to learn the basics of how to manipulate...what did that blasted scientist call it….ah yes, the symbol on your back that creates the constructs after you feed my chakra into it. Since we have a bit of time, you can practice the technique I used on the bridge**," answered the sentient chakra being.

"And what was that? In case you forgot, I kinda blacked out during that," replied Naruto with annoyance.

"**While true, our memories were linked at the time with a different symbol, one that you probably won't learn and master for years. However, if you look deep enough, you should find the memories of that battle mixed in with yours**. **Now, try and replicate it. If you can't come back in six months when you **_**can**_**, brat**."

Naruto scoffed at the giant fox, who seemed to relax in a lazy way inside of his 'cage' at this point, and attempted to remember the details of the battle on the bridge that now shared his namesake.

He remembered everything, from meeting Haku, to giving Inari a wake-up call, right up until Sasuke's pseudo-death, and then nothing. Tried as he might, he couldn't remember anything…

But then, at that moment, he remembered something before it went 'dark'. Two large, menacing, red eyes. The eyes….of the Kyuubi. Focusing more on the memory, he could feel more sensations, more of his senses that had seemed to be blocked out when he was actually fighting. Just then, an image appeared that wasn't there before.

It was a claw. A translucent crimson claw in the style of the beast on the other side of the bars, with the blurry image of his own hand inside. Which were inside of the ribcage of the hunter-nin, who he now knew was Haku.

Screaming in horror, he placed his hands over his eyes, just now noticing that his hands were really covered by the same claws he'd seen in the image.

Before he could jump out of his own body, he heard the same malevolent, condescending chuckle from his tenant, and the new stimulus distracted him from the deadly looking weapons on his hands.

"**So...you do have **_**some**_** talent, brat. I underestimated you a bit it seems**," said the Kyuubi, still lying about lazily.

"What...what is this?"

"**It is the power of **_**Crimson**_**, the combined structure of symbols that manipulate my chakra and this seal that keeps me enslaved. It was originally designed for a type of chakra as potent as mine...and they called the constructs like the one you created an O.S., short for Over Soul**," answered the fox before yawning a bit. These history lessons were getting a bit old for his liking.

"Why did they call them Over Soul? That doesn't make sense…"

"**It was originally thought that chakra was the 'essence of the soul' or some such nonsense. They called it O.S. because it was thought to be a manifestation of your soul, made solid by its essence. Anyway, most people name their own O.S.'s, but since that one was developed by a previous user, you should know its called…**"

The Kyuubi was cut off by Naruto saying, "**Bijuu Han Kote**. They're an imitation of your claws...and you can 'feel' anything that these claws...somehow."

"**Correct, brat. They are made of my chakra, so in essence, they **_**are **_**my claws. I'm just letting you 'borrow' them. Now, since you've completed your test, you may make your leave from my domain, until you are strong enough to command more of my chakra, and with it, my respect**," said the fox dismissively.

"Wait! Before I go...I want to know, everyone calls you the Kyuubi no Yoko but…what's your real name, fox?" asked Naruto, again with more naivety than he might have wanted.

The fox laughed once more, but this time with actual mirth instead of his previous condescending and malicious chuckles. He answered, "**Perhaps, one day, I will tell you, brat. But for now, you need not know it. Now, begone**."

Almost instantly, and against his will, Naruto vanished from the presence of the seal within his body, leaving the Kyuubi alone to ponder his dealings with his current jailor.

"**The brat's a lot more respectful than his mother. She didn't ask me what my name was until she was neck deep in a battle with Mephistopheles**."

**KW-RD-KW-RD-**

This time, his awakening was as abrupt or nearly as shocking as the last time he'd awoken from an experience like this.

However, he had noticed that his hands were still covered by the armored gauntlet-claws and that the binding seal was active. Before he could question it, however, he heard a voice on the intercom.

"Naruto, are you alright? It's been almost an hour...and don't worry about the binding seal, it's configured to activate whenever the Kyuubi's chakra is detected. It won't actually 'bind' you...but I'd suggest deactivating your jutsu before trying to move."

Naruto complied, not knowing how or why he'd been able to dissolve his jutsu so easily, attributing it to how he'd been able to summon it with practiced ease as well.

"So, what now?" asked Naruto as the binding seal returned to its dormant state and other researchers flooded the room to take measurements from the various tools and seals that lined the walls.

"Now...welcome to the Konoha Research and Development Department, Uzumaki Naruto!"

**KW-RD-KW-RD-**

"_How did you get the Hokage to agree with this? He's pretty set in his ways, and he was adamant about not letting Naruto anywhere near you before we left for Nami no Kuni. What happened?" asked Kakashi._

_He was currently sitting across from Jin, in a bar, although neither seemed to be inebriated in the slightest. _

"_Your report changed his mind. Originally he believed that both Naruto __**and**__ the Kyuubi were unaware of the symbols on him connected to the seal, and hoped to keep it a secret until Jiraiya could find a method to remove it. Now that he knows at least one of them knows, he wants to keep an eye on it the best way he knows how, using me as protective goggles, of sorts," replied Jin._

"_Huh. That explains a lot. No clue why he let Naruto join your department. I mean, overseeing the development of the...whatever it is, is one thing, but allowing a full membership?"_

"_He's giving me the illusion of free reign with this, but in actuality it's much easier for him to glean any info if Naruto's my subordinate rather than a free radical being secretly trained by me," answered Jin before taking a small swig of Sake._

"_Ahh, yes. Using the suspicion around your department, any anomalies that happen would get reported almost immediately. He's essentially given you a death sentence of sorts, if this doesn't work out perfectly that is," answered Kakashi, before taking a swig of his own Sake. "In any case, any plans you have for Sasuke, considering you already have two of my students?"_

_Jin chuckled before responding, "Funny, but Sakura's a different case than Naruto. She essentially became a kunoichi in order to follow in Kizashi's footsteps. Speaking of Sakura, I do owe you one for...omitting her involvement in Nami no Kuni. I still need her condition to be kept on a need to know basis."_

"_Who says I didn't tell the Hokage?"_

"_Because if you did, other factions would know by now. Hiruzen-sama really should have let me update the seals guarding the Hokage Tower from eavesdroppers."_

_Kakashi took another swig of Sake, mystifying Jin as he didn't even need to remove his mask. He let the last bits swirl around in the saucer while he thought about the implications of what Jin had just said could have, before sighing a bit._

_"Seems like trouble is on the horizon," said Kakashi in his typical nonchalant manner._

"_Yes...and I only hope we've prepared enough to stop it."_

Kakashi sighed as he remembered his conversation with the R&D Director, absently watching his team paint a fence for an old woman whose children were too busy to do so.

He silently wished things could remain like this forever, so silent, so peaceful...so far away from the horrid state of war that he'd grown up in. That his students could remain children forever.

But, an image flashed across his mind as he stared at the three genin. He no longer saw children, but instead, three soldiers. A young blond boy with crimson claws embedded in a hunter-nin, a pink haired girl shooting fire born from hell into the bodies of mercenaries, and a black haired boy with red eyes poised to kill what looked to be his elder brother.

In that moment, Hatake Kakashi realized something. These youths had ceased being _children_ some time ago. They were soldiers now. Tools. _Weapons_. At their very essence, they were just waiting for the next conflict, the next chance to put their skills up against opponents to decide the fate of themselves and their village.

It was also, in that moment, for the first time since he'd left ANBU, Hatake Kakashi felt..._restless_.

So, with that, he'd made up his mind about his students, though they wouldn't learn for another couple of months. He would enter them in the Chuunin Exams, regardless of inexperience, lack of skill, or any other demerit against them.

Because even if they didn't get promoted, Kakashi just _knew_ they needed to be there. Konohagakure no Sato as a whole, needed them to be there.

**KW-RD-KW-RD-**

"...so what are you supposed to be teaching me again, Sakura-chan?" asked Naruto, currently seated across from his crush in a large, but mostly empty library.

"It's called, Kigoujutsu,(Symbol Techniques) Naruto. I thought you knew that already," replied Sakura with just an ounce of annoyance.

"Yeah, well what does it do, anyway?" answered Naruto, matching her annoyance easily.

"Kigoujutsu is similar to Fuuinjutsu, in some ways, but Kigoujutsu actually manipulates objects and energy, as opposed to seals which just enclose or release them. You use them all the time, baka," said Sakura.

"Like how?"

"Explosive tags. The seals outside of the kanji just hold the chakra, while the kanji itself makes it explode."

"So _that's _how they work!"

"Yes, but those are simple, and also use seals to help regulate them. The symbols that you, and sometimes both of us, are going to be learning will be much harder and will probably take a lot of practice. Like this one," said Sakura as she opened a book to a dog eared page that had a rune in an ancient language, "is supposed to be for 'light'. They say that the Shinobi Sect in ancient days used this to light up their homes, or caves when they had to hide."

"Sakura-chan, you think it works?" asked Naruto curiously.

"Well of course it _works_, I've seen plenty of these used when my dad…"

"No, I mean this one. The one in the book."

"Umm...I don't know. I mean, in theory, it should, but there's no way to tell. Unless…"

Naruto grew confused as Sakura zoned out, staring at the page with an infinite curiosity. She slowly reached out her hand, retracted it, and reached out again as she remembered her first lesson in Kigoujutsu.

Her father had told her that all Kigoujutsu operated based on language, hence why many modern ones had their symbols of writing. Understand the language, and you could make a 'symbol' from it essentially, or use the symbols written in your language if you knew how to manipulate them. Symbols could be simple words, strings of words, or full on phrases to manipulate chakra in different ways.

The elder Haruno had also told her that the first users of Kigoujutsu, as well as some of the few that practiced it today, used a system of runes that could mean almost anything the user wanted it to mean, as long as they meant _something_. As long as they fit in the laws of the universe of course, but it expanded the possibilities of the art almost endlessly, while also preventing any of your prized techniques from being copied by an enemy.

But, at the end he mentioned that the original users embedded in their bloodline a way of...decoding any 'symbol' if it were primed for that purpose. It wouldn't translate the word or phrase, per se, but the inner workings of the jutsu would become instantly known, and the jutsu itself would be accessible to them. They had also embedded other abilities related to the art, each one different to distinguish between bloodlines, the knowledge of which was lost in translation.

And so, Haruno Sakura, transfixed by the runic based symbol on the book on the basics of Kigoujutsu, finally reached out and touched the symbol on the page. And nothing happened.

"Whew, for a second there I thought you were gonna blow us up or something, Sakura-chan!" said Naruto in relief.

Sakura sighed, wondering how she could have thought she was from a legendary bloodline of some sort, before she remembered her second lesson on Kigoujutsu. Physical contact must be made, but if there was no chakra available, you had to inject some of your own. Hence why many had seals in a circle around them, in order to act as a 'battery' of sorts while the user manipulated the seal unhindered.

Leaping out on faith again, Sakura pooled chakra into her hand, readying herself for something, _anything_ to happen. She breathed deeply, causing Naruto to tense in anticipation once again, and funneled the small amount of chakra into the rune.

To her surprise, horror, and glorious _satisfaction_, she immediately understood that the rune in question really _was_ used for simple lighting, and she could feel the rune's properties become available to her. She was suddenly _aware_ of how to change the brightness, color, contrast, even focusing the light to a single location.

All lost in this was the fact that the rune in question had been glowing pretty brightly during her musings, and her tutee's jaw had dropped in amazement. Once she noticed, however, she took her hand off of the rune on the paper, killing the extra light source, but the knowledge of the rune still remained.

"That. Was. _Awesome_, Sakura-chan! How did you do it?" asked Naruto excitedly, now fully interested in the new form of ninja arts he would be learning.

"I….I don't know, Naruto. I just put my hand on the paper, put some chakra into it and…."

"Let me try!" said Naruto as he cut off his friend while also shooting his hand towards the rune on the page with a much larger amount of chakra ready to be released.

"No, Naruto, I don't think it'll wor…"

Before Sakura could finish her sentence, she was nearly blinded by the sudden illumination of the room by the rune and Naruto's chakra. While shielding her eyes from the unwanted light source, Sakura took a bit of time to realize something she'd remembered from her other lessons.

She'd seen others try to use symbols they didn't fully understand, and they all had failed miserably. Those who knew nothing didn't get a reaction at all, and those with more knowledge and wisdom only got protracted effects. Never before had she heard of anyone having the capabilities of activating, and in her case freely manipulating, a symbol in which they had very little, for her, to none, for Naruto, knowledge of what the symbol meant or it's possible function.

And so, Sakura could only come to one conclusion, as the light died down with Naruto cutting off the flow of chakra and rubbing his eyes intensely to regain some semblance of his vision back. She placed her left hand on her collarbone, feeling for the bear claw necklace her father had given her on her tenth birthday, and the _other_ event that occurred that day.

"The legends really were true…"

"What legends?" asked Naruto, still seeing dots.

Sakura tensed a bit, before running over to another bookshelf and grabbing at least four more books, opening them all to seemingly random chapters.

"These legends. Instead of starting with the boring stuff, how about I teach you all those while telling you about the first users?" asked Sakura with a bit of a smirk on her face.

Naruto smiled widely and nodded intensely, his curiosity piqued from the instant gratification he'd gained from activating that symbol, not even counting the fact that he'd also learned the properties of that particular one after accidentally turning the brightness all the way up upon activation. He made a mental note to apologize to Sakura about that later.

"Great! Well, a long, long time ago when ninjutsu was in its infancy, there was a small group of shinobi that…"

**KW-RD-KW-RD-**

"...and then, I put my hand on the weird character and made it glow too, Iruka-sensei! Then Sakura-chan told me about these really old guys who made up the stuff, and how they could use any symbol they wanted and stuff, but she also told me how…"

"Slow down, Naruto, you don't have to explain it all at once. Besides your ramen might get cold if you try to tell me the whole story about your last couple of months of training."

Naruto immediately stopped attempting to talk and dug into his ramen, much to the pleasure of his old sensei and the ramen duo at Ichiraku's. Iruka yawned a bit as he watched his student eat, still a bit fatigued from his mission load since he'd been...activated. Even right now at high noon, with the sun in his face, he still could feel himself slipping into the thralls of a nap.

"So now, you say that you talked to the Hokage and he sent you to R&D to master some new power you have related to you-know-who?" asked Iruka as he began to eat his own ramen to stay awake.

"Yeah! At first I thought it was gonna be a drag and all since it sounded _so _boring at first, but once I started training with Sakura-chan in Kigoujutsu, it's been so _exciting_! I bet even Sasuke won't be able to beat me with all the stuff I've learned!" exclaimed the hyperactive-knucklehead ninja before once again devouring the flavored noodles in earnest.

"And here I thought Kigoujutsu was becoming a lost art of sorts. Nice to see at least two young people interested in it again. So, how much have you learned since you've started?"

"We've gone over manipulating a bunch of different ones, and we even learned how to chain a few of them together to make even more effects! All of it is basic stuff, but at least I've almost caught up to Sakura in terms of what I know. Well, maybe not what I know, 'cuz Sakura-chan's like an encyclopedia on this stuff, she knows _everything_," answered Naruto while tapping his chin in thought.

"That's to be expected. You told me she said she's been learning about this stuff since she was little. In all honesty she probably knows more about Kigoujutsu than most other ninja, probably more than even me," said Iruka in an attempt to encourage his little brother-in-spirit.

"You? You know Kigoujutsu too, Iruka-sensei?" asked the blond boy.

"Yes, a little here and there," said Iruka with a smile, though some of it was forced.

"Could you show me? Please!"

"Maybe one day, but I have to get back to the academy soon, paperwork and the like. I'll see ya later, Naruto," said Iruka as he left a sizeable portion of his last paycheck on the counter to cover both his and Naruto's meals. He could almost feel his wallet cry a bit as he left most of its contents there, but he figured it was worth the pain.

Naruto quickly finished his ramen and thanked the old man and Ayame, who merely waved as he readied himself to bound back to the R&D library to study with Sakura, only to see her chasing Konohamaru down the street.

"COME BACK SNOT NOSED BRAT! I'LL TEAR YOUR HEAD OFF FOR THIS!"

Naruto stopped Konohamaru, hoisting the young ninja-in-training by his shirt, while also placing himself in the path of his enraged teammate to protect him, and asked, "What did you do, Konohamaru?"

"I don't know! First I was talking about sneaking up on you and defeating you in battle, and then this girl asked if I knew where you where, and then I asked if she was your girlfriend, she said no, and I said 'no way my eternal rival would pick a flat chested chick like you', and then this happened!"

"You know, Konohamaru, maybe if you apologized she won't kill you," said Naruto a bit exasperated at the chain of events.

"No way!" exclaimed Konohamaru as he managed to break Naruto's grip and take off. "I wasn't lying when I said she was…"

Konohamaru was cut off once more, but this time by a strange looking young man wearing black robes and Kabuki style face paint, walking side by side with a young woman with blond hair, a mini skirt and fishnets underneath.

"Hey, brat, watch where you're going!" said the strangely dressed young man.

"I-I-I'm sorry, sir…"

"No, you aren't sorry, but you will be," said the angry young man as he reared back his hand preparing to strike.

He was stopped, however, when he felt a hand grab his forearm from beside him.

"Hey! I'm the only one that can hit Konohamaru!" exclaimed Naruto as he calmly held the other guy's arm in place. Now that he could see his hitai-ite more clearly, it was obvious he was from Sunagakure, as well as the young lady standing next to him.

"And who are you, kid?" said the Suna ninja, freeing his arm and dropping Konohamaru in his distracted state.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage!" exclaimed Naruto, secretly revelling in how cool he had to have looked.

Noticing that the pink haired girl, also a Konoha ninja from her hitai-ite, was beginning to approach, Temari decided enough was enough for today.

"Kankuro, let's get out of here. _He_ won't be happy if we're late."

"No way, Temari. These brats are annoying, so it's time to show them who's boss," said Kankuro as he pulled the bundle off of his back.

"You're going to use Karasu? Here? But what if…"

"'What if' nothing! I'm sick of dealing with these children!" exclaimed the young man as the wrappings began to come off of Karasu.

Naruto jumped backwards, showing off what looked to be the hind legs of a fox covering his legs from the knee joint down. His legs inside of the chakra construct were barely visible, just like his gauntlets from before.

'_That guy, he's dangerous. But with the speed boost the __**O.S. Bijuu Suneate**_(Oversoul: Tailed Beast Greaves)_ grants, I should be able to hit him before he can even make a move!'_ thought Naruto as he poised himself to strike just as his opponent showed his hand.

He never needed to, however, as a rock came from the tree line and beamed Kankuro in the face. Turning to see the source of the rock, he spotted his rival preparing another stone throw with an unamused expression.

"You, Suna-nin, it's bad enough you're in foreign territory unannounced. But messing with the Hokage's grandson is a step too far. Now, get lost before I really get angry," said Sasuke, somehow raising the 'cool' bar Naruto had set only a minute before.

Kankuro seethed, but he knew that neither he nor Temari had sensed the kid in the forest in the slightest, and three on two wasn't a favorable matchup when his opponents had backup all around them.

Before he could truly make a decision, however, a wave of killing intent from a familiar source made the decision _for_ him.

"Kankuro...stop. Now isn't the time for games," said a cold, emotionless voice from a tree next to Sasuke.

The Sharingan wielder's eyes widened for a moment as he now saw the red haired Suna-nin with a large gourd on his back upside down three branches away. The fact that he hadn't sensed the boy until the killing intent arrived disgusted Sasuke to no end.

"B-but Gaara…"

"Save it. We're going, now. Defy me again and I'll _kill _you," replied Gaara with obvious finality.

The youngest sand shinobi jumped down from his perch, and began to walk away with his allies. Sasuke also found his way down from the trees, joining his teammates and a terrified Konohamaru on the ground.

"Hey wait! Even though you're allies, foreign ninja aren't allowed in the village without a purpose, so why are you here?" asked Sakura in a 'rules and regulations' tone.

As much as they both hated that part of their pink haired teammate, each boy had to resist high fiving her for remembering the rule. Mostly because they wanted to know the same thing.

"Hmph, we're here for the Chuunin Exams. Figures Genin as green as you three wouldn't know about things like that," said Kankuro as he flashed a stamped passport and visa to the three.

"Hey," said Sasuke while trying to capitalize on the re-opening of the conversation," what's your name?"

Temari turned around with a slight blush and said, "M-me? You wanna know my name?"

"No, not you. The one with the gourd," replied Sasuke with a bit of annoyance.

"My name is Sabaku no Gaara. I look forward to fighting you, soon," replied Gaara as he walked off into the distance, not wanting to stay in the presence of the Konoha ninja much longer.

The three Konoha genin and one genin-hopeful all stood for a moment after the sand shinobi made their leave, as if absorbing the fact that something big was happening soon…

**KW-RD-KW-RD-**

"They've been entered into the Chuunin Exams, Orochimaru-sama. It would seem as though your old master really has grown senile," said Kabuto, while bowing in front of his master.

"No, he merely seeks to draw me out into the open. He wants to have a 'last stand' of sorts some time soon, just as I predicted the dated fool would do. No matter, I will deal with him when the times comes, as we have more _pressing _matters," responded the snake sannin as he walked over to a large cylinder and read the notes attached to it. "Like the fact that somehow, Umino-kun was able to find and kill at least thirty of my secret Hollows."

"Ah, yes. It seems as though Tetsu-san has designed a way to track the special type of chakra that Hollows emit. I thought it was inconsequential, considering that he only has one 'hunter' to kill them," replied Kabuto.

Orochimaru stared menacingly at his young charge and said, "For now, it is. But Jin-kun was always a fast learner. He'll probably be able to reverse my experiment completely in some time, rendering my Hollows useless."

"So, what do we do?"

"We continue with our plan. Those thirty were an...acceptable loss. The destruction of Konoha will remain on schedule. However, we do need to form a countermeasure for our most recent setback. Contact the Wulong Goth."

"_Them_? But…"

"No 'but's, Kabuto. They are under our employ, and so they shall heed my command. I am in need of their _expertise,_" said Orochimaru as he smiled at the cylinder he was standing in front of.

Kabuto nodded and left, while Orochimaru merely stared at his experiments before hitting the release button on one of them.

'_If he wants to play games, I guess I'll just have to raise the stakes.'_

**X-X-X**

**A/N**: Okay. I believe I'm three years late on this, but I finally got the right story I wanted in my head and finally got Chapter 2 off the ground. Big thanks to **Renohan** for the beta work, and be on the lookout for some of his work coming soon.

In any case, I probably will start a Tumblr to host all of my extraneous story universe info soon. Link will be in my bio if I do so, and I'll probably announce it in a chapter update.

Happy Holidays to you all, and please review.


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